If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

I agree that some of the best deer killed are in general areas, I have seen some really big deer come out of the area I hunt. Most of the big ones that I have seen have been taken on or at least near private land. The opportunity to kill a really good buck in general areas is there but you either have to pay a pretty significant trespass fee or an outfitter to get the best oppotunities to get them. I guess it all depends on the area a person would choose to hunt in.

All of my biggest deer came from general area, public land units in MT. There are also some good deer on 100% draw areas on public land.

What units would be considered "general" in Colorado? Meaning a tag that requires little or no points, but a decent chance at having some luck.

Generally Colorado has 5 or 6 deer seasons....Archery, ML and 3 or 4 rifle seasons. Obviously the best units will require points. Check out the Colorado Parks & Wildlife web site for details of units and points necessary. I'll quote the 2012 Hunting booklet.."All deer licenses are limited and available ONLY through the draw ..." So there you have it.

Colorado Cowboy
Cowboy Action Shooter; Endowment Life Member-NRA
The Original Rocket Scientist-Retired
"My Father always considered a walk in the mountains as the equivalent of church going."
Aldous Huxley

Thanks for all the info everyone. Its good the hear that theres still some opportunities out there for a guy like me. I have a couple years before I will get to go out of state, so I will start researching this year. Let me know if any of you want to travel west to hunt a Blacktail, theres still some nice bucks to be had. They are getting harder to find though, lack of logging has changed things alot where I have always hunted. But I still have a few sweet spots!

All of my biggest deer came from general area, public land units in MT. There are also some good deer on 100% draw areas on public land.

Bitteroot I do not doubt what you say and congradulations on your success. I have taken some decent deer on public land general areas myself. I just think that a hunter would have better opportunities to shoot a BC quality mule deer (or a least close to) in a limited quota area. This is just an opinion that may be shared by quite a few more people.

Oh, I didn't mean to come across like I was arguing with you, Wyohunter, I wasn't.

My point was that even though MT has some great tough-to-draw units, there are places in both states where the DIY hunter of more modest means can get it done. In fact the majority of B&C heads to come out of MT in the last 20 years came out of general areas and public land.

Wyoming is different, I think, because most of the public backcountry outside of regions G and H is wilderness, and non-resident DIY hunters are out of luck in there.

TImberstalkers stated goal of a 170 plus deer is more than doable on Public Land and General Areas in MT.

Oh, I didn't mean to come across like I was arguing with you, Wyohunter, I wasn't.

My point was that even though MT has some great tough-to-draw units, there are places in both states where the DIY hunter of more modest means can get it done. In fact the majority of B&C heads to come out of MT in the last 20 years came out of general areas and public land.

Wyoming is different, I think, because most of the public backcountry outside of regions G and H is wilderness, and non-resident DIY hunters are out of luck in there.

TImberstalkers stated goal of a 170 plus deer is more than doable on Public Land and General Areas in MT.

Sorry bitteroot, I did not believe that any argument was taking place nor did I take any offense to the comments. It was just a slight differnece of opininion between two people who obviously love hunting and the outdoors. If given the choice I would try to obtain a limited quota tag, if that were not possible I would then most likely get a general tag. Again I took no offense and was just stating what I felt would be the best opportunity to take a good mule deer.